Kansas City is a driving town. Except for a few corridors, it is difficult to use public transportation to navigate our metropolitan area.
When my husband and I first moved here, we lived in an apartment just a few short blocks from one of the main north-south routes, and we usually took the bus to work. Our first house was also on this route, though several miles farther out.
But once we had children, it was no longer feasible to take the bus regularly. The daycare provider lived close to our house, but not on the bus route. It was too difficult to get our son to daycare then get to work at a reasonable time.
Then, when we moved to the part of Kansas City north of the Missouri River, public transportation was no longer convenient at all. It could be done, but not easily.
So occasional taxi rides became our only non-driving expeditions. And we only took taxis when round-trip cab fare to the airport (plus tips) was less expensive than parking our car for our absence.
When we needed a cab, we typically used a taxi service based in the Northland. The drivers of this service could be counted on to find our house without any trouble. But over time, their cabs got dirtier, and their drivers more surly.
I took cabs more frequently when traveling than in Kansas City, and more frequently on business trips than when traveling for fun. New York City was a prime example of business travel requiring taxis. But I soon discovered that the only thing worse than riding in New York taxis would be driving myself in New York (something I have yet to attempt). On one business trip about twenty years ago, the cab driver returning us to LaGuardia made so many jerky stops and starts that I was nauseated by the time I got to the airport. Not a pleasant experience.
On the recent trip my husband and I took to New York for our son’s wedding, we knew we would have to rely on a lot of taxis. His 91-year-old mother was with us, and she would not be able to walk far nor to maneuver around subways. I didn’t look forward to the cab rides in New York, but I thought they were our best mode of transportation.
Our first ride was the cab from LaGuardia to our hotel in Brooklyn. It was late at night, and we were tired. The driver did not seem to know how to stay in a single traffic lane. My husband said the guy almost killed us by side-swiping a car when he swerved into another lane. I must have had my eyes closed at that moment, though I noticed a couple of other close calls.
Our next taxi ride was from our hotel to Pier 6 on the Brooklyn waterfront where we were scheduled to take a ferry to Governors Island. Even though our starting point and our destination were both in Brooklyn, the driver went over the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan. I guess he thought we meant the Manhattan pier. He turned off the meter when our daughter pointed out his error, but that meant we had no idea what a fair fare was. And then he dropped us off on Pier 5, so we had to walk to Pier 6.
Manhattan skyline from Governors Island
After this experience, our daughter instructed me to sign up for Uber. While we were on Governors Island, she downloaded the Uber app onto my phone, gave me basic instructions on how to use it, then abandoned me to make my own way back to the hotel, with my mother-in-law in tow.
Once the Governors Island ferry dumped us back on Pier 6, I booked an Uber car for the first time, with my nephew looking over my shoulder to confirm I was doing it right. A nice clean car arrived two minutes later. The driver was smiling. We got in, and about fifteen minutes later arrived back at our hotel.
I was sold—an immediate Uber convert.
Over the rest of our stay in Brooklyn, my husband and I took several Uber rides. All of the cars were clean. All of the drivers were courteous. For the most part, they drove safely (though one went through a red light unnecessarily). When we arrived at our destinations, we didn’t have to hassle about payment. Later, the Uber app sent me a message to rate the driver and add a tip if I wanted.
The only downside to my Uber experience was on the ride to our son’s wedding. I’d brought some extra shoes in case my fancy ones started to hurt, but exiting the car was so easy that I left the shoes in the back seat. I can’t blame my mistake on the driver, but it is difficult to contact Uber drivers after the fact. So I had to swallow the loss of my shoes.
After we returned to Kansas City, I opened the Uber app on my phone, wondering whether the service would work as well in the Midwest as in the New York metropolis. There were icons for six Uber cars floating within a couple of miles of our house. I haven’t tried it yet, but I doubt the dirty, surly local taxi service gets much more business from me.
I’ll take an Uber.
What new technology have you adopted recently?
Many years ago, I returned very late at night from a business trip. I had parked in Circle Parking at terminal ‘B’, but had flown home into terminal ‘C’ and intended to use the shuttle bus to get to my car. I waited for 15 or 20 minutes with no bus in sight. A single taxi was the only other sign of life. It drove over and the driver asked if I was waiting for the shuttle, then told me that it ran sporadically (if at all) at night. He offered to take me to my car, and after giving the bus a few more minutes to show up, I agreed. He put my luggage in the trunk and drove me to the terminal. Once there, he stopped the taxi and said “Where’s your car?” I pointed to it, visible a few rows away on the surface parking lot. He turned the taxi so its headlights were pointed at my car and got my luggage out of the trunk. Then he said “I’ll stay here until you’re safe in your car. When you start it up, blink the lights at me so I’ll know everything is okay.” I thanked him and tried to pay him, but he wouldn’t even accept a tip! That was decades ago, and I’m still grateful for the kindness of this anonymous taxi driver.
We have had some good cab drivers in Kansas City. Glad you had a good experience. Those airport shuttles are not always reliable.